With memories of last summers protracted and damaging bins strike still fresh in the memories the refuse collection service is certainly going to be a key battleground in the up and coming Birmingham City Council election on May 3.

And the refuse and recycling policies from the political parties battling it out for the 101 seats are beginning to emerge.

So here we answer questions over which parties back weekly or fortnightly refuse collections.

Whether or not the service should be privatised or remain under council control.

And should the range of recycling be expanded - and if so which materials could be added.

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Labour

Increase recycling and work closely with partners to reduce plastic waste.

Launch a Clean Streets Campaign working with community organisations and schools to promote behaviour change while increasing the number of enforcement officers and using mapping to target fly-tipping hotspots.

Over the longer term we will continue to modernise the waste collection and recycling service, investing £50 million in council tips and Tyseley Incinerator

Birmingham Worker Party

Collections must remain weekly, and there should be a return to regular collections of large items those without a car struggle to dispose of. Such collections would drastically reduce the routine dumping of sofas and beds on the city streets.

Recycling of garden waste is now an industry worth millions, and local firms, as well as those based in neighbouring areas are making large profits from mulching green waste, processing the material and reselling it to housing developers, commercial gardeners and the public for bedding or used as topsoil.

Birmingham has all the necessary resources to freely collect such waste and to process it. This would generate revenue for the city and help keep our green areas, and our streets, clean and tidy.

People Power Brum

It was recognised that it’s an environmental priority to reduce the volume of household waste produced however it was felt that reducing bin collections now would simply lead to an increase in fly tipping.

Measures were discussed to change people’s behaviour, including expanding recycling collections and a financial incentive to recycle. To finish, the People’s Parliament agreed a list of things that needed to be researched before the issue is looked at again.